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Savoy Pictures
Savoy Pictures was an American independent motion picture company in operation from 1992 to present. Among Savoy Pictures' noteworthy feature films were A Bronx Tale, No Escape, Last of the Dogmen and Serial Mom. History Former Columbia Pictures Entertainment chairman Victor A. Kaufman became chairman and chief executive officer of Savoy Pictures in 1992 along with vice chairman executive, Lewis J. Korman. Kaufman has claimed that the name came from the Savoy Special bat Robert Redford's character used in The Natural. Savoy intended to finance and distribute films in the $12–25 million range, investing in up to $15 million per film. In June of that year, Savoy entered into a deal with HBO for the home video, pay-TV, and pay-per-view rights to its films. Budget for their films grew. However, with rather poor marketing, Savoy faced a major financial slump, only three years after being formed. For three years, Savoy then released box office failures like Exit to Eden. It also didn't help that two of its competitors in the independent film field, Miramax and New Line Cinema, were bought out by majors (The Walt Disney Company and Turner Broadcasting, respectively), giving them stability. As a result, Savoy focused on low-budget films and the occasional blockbuster, costing up to $80 million. Executives hoped to lure Sylvester Stallone with a then-hefty $20 million paycheck to star in a studio project that was ultimately never made. In the meantime, Savoy expanded into broadcasting to help the investment of films. In March 1994, Savoy created SF Broadcasting as a venture with Fox Television Stations, with Kaufman and Korman owning controlling interest. As a result of purchasing these stations, all of them would become affiliates of the Fox network. Stations owned by SF Broadcasting were WALA-TV in Mobile, Alabama, WLUK-TV in Green Bay, Wisconsin, WVUE in New Orleans, and KHON-TV in Honolulu, Hawaii. Savoy also launched a television production division. In January 1995, Kaufman announced that he was hiring Robert N. Fried to run the motion picture studio. Fried brought in executives Alan Sokol, Bob Levin, Cathy Schulman, Stan Brooks, Stan Wlodkowski and filmmakers Sam Raimi, and George Tillman, Rob Weiss and Peter Chelsom. In September 1995, Kaufman announced that he was cutting back on his interest in the motion picture business and was re-positioning the company as a TV station holding company. Shortly thereafter, Savoy announced the sale of these films in its roster, in varying stages of production, to potential buyers. New Line Cinema picked up Martin Lawrence's directorial debut A Thin Line Between Love and Hate, American History X, The Adventures of Pinocchio, Heaven's Prisoners, Faithful, and The Stupids. Walt Disney Pictures picked up the rights to produce James and the Giant Peach. Paramount Pictures picked up the rights to produce Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde and A Simple Plan. Savoy Pictures announced in December 1995 that Barry Diller's IAC/Interactive Corporation was going to acquire Savoy. The deal was finalized in 1997. Victor Kaufman is now Vice Chairman and sits on the board of directors of IAC. The SF stations were sold to Diller's Silver King Broadcasting in 1997. In 2006, Savoy acquired Universal Pictures. Filmography * A Bronx Tale (September 29, 1993) (with TriBeCa Productions) * Shadowlands (December 25, 1993) (with Paramount Pictures and Price Entertainment re-released the film in November 26, 1999) * Lightning Jack (March 11, 1994) (with Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures) * Serial Mom (April 13, 1994) (with Polar Entertainment Corporation) * Timecop (September 16, 1994) (with Universal Pictures, Largo Entertainment, Dark Horse Entertainment and Renaissance Pictures) * Exit to Eden (October 14, 1994) * Circle of Friends (March 17, 1995) (with Cineplex Odeon Films) * Tales from the Hood (May 24, 1995) (with 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks) * Casper (May 26, 1995) (with Columbia Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures, Rysher Entertainment, Great Oaks Entertainment, Bad Robot Productions, Lucasfilm Ltd. and The Harvey Entertainment Company re-released the film in May 26, 2017) * Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde (August 25, 1995) (with Paramount Pictures, Great Oaks Entertainment, Threshold Entertainment and Rank Film Distributors re-released the film in August 26, 2005) * The Show (August 25, 1995) (with Columbia Pictures and Rysher Entertainment) * Last of the Dogmen (September 8, 1995) (with TriStar Pictures and Carolco Pictures) * Three Wishes (October 27, 1995) (with Rysher Entertainment) * James and the Giant Peach (April 12, 1996) (with Walt Disney Pictures, Allied Filmmakers and Great Oaks Entertainment re-released the film in April 10, 1998) * The Adventures of Pinocchio (July 26, 1996) (with New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. Pictures, The Kushner-Locke Company, Empire International, Atlantic Releasing Corporation, Jim Henson Pictures, ImageMovers, StudioCanal, BBC Films, Lyrick Studios, Pangaea Holdings and Twin Continental Films re-released the film in July 28, 2006) * The Stupids (August 30, 1996) (with New Line Cinema, Imagine Entertainment and Rank Film Distributors) * Virus (January 15, 1999) (with Universal Pictures, Mutual Film Company, Valhalla Motion Pictures, Constellation Films and Dark Horse Entertainment) * Inspector Gadget 2 (March 11, 2003) (with Walt Disney Pictures, Caravan Pictures, Mosiac Media Group, Atlantic Releasing Corporation and Mandeville Films re-released the film in March 12, 2012) * The Hunted (March 14, 2003) (with Paramount Pictures, Lakeshore Entertainment, Great Oaks Entertainment and Alphaville) * Better Luck Tomorrow (April 25, 2003) (with Paramount Pictures, MTV Films, Hudson River Entertainment, Cherry Sky Films, Day O Productions and Trailing Johnson Productions) * The Fighting Temptations (September 19, 2003) (with Paramount Pictures and MTV Films) * Suspect Zero (August 27, 2004) (with Paramount Pictures, Columbia Pictures, White Eagle Enterprises, Intermedia Films and Project Icarus Pictures) * The Weather Man (October 28, 2005) (with Paramount Pictures, Escape Artists and Saturn Films) * Aeon Flux (December 2, 2005) (with Paramount Pictures, Lakeshore Entertainment, Valhalla Motion Pictures and MTV Films) * Shrek the Third (May 10, 2007) (with Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks Animation, Geffen Pictures, Zomba Films, Great Oaks Entertainment, Mandeville Films, Pacific Data Images and Threshold Entertainment)